D&D 5E What is the best class for a single class only campaign?

[TwoSix]

I'm not sure about best, but I would love to play in a party of all Druids.

I'm trying to think what are the 4-5 best subclasses for an all-Druid party.

 

[Ashrym]

If you're going to be playing in Tier 3 (as per OP), you'll need full casters or an accommodating DM. So the first cut, the Artificer, Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, and Rogue are out, and Warlock is iffy.

Sheer survival in early Tier 2 cuts against Sorcerers and Wizards on the front line.

So, Bard, Cleric, or Druid. At which point, it's a matter of taste.

5e doesn't need full casters until it's a gotcha DM who forces the need. It's the accommodating DM that enables the 5MWD because that doesn't follow storyline time frames.

I assure you I can play a group with 5 fighters allowing feats. ;-)

Warlock is only iffy if a person hasn't figured out short rests are easier to justify than long rests and don't suffer the once per 24hr stipulation. Mechanically they make a great choice

The problem with artificer is that you will never get any spells past 4th level, and you have to wait till the final third of the campaign to even get those.

OTOH, those 5 artificers carry a lot more lower magic beyond what 5 full casters would carry into that 3rd tier because of how slot progression works, the spell storing items, the infusions, and some of the subclass abilities.

I'm not convinced I would miss the few high level slots over the SSI's and infusions. That's a quantity vs quality decision with no wrong choice. One is better when a character really needs more oomph and the other stretches resources out longer

 

[Ashrym]

I voted bard. I think any class works and the biggest difference is in how those players play the characters in the campaign.

The reason I went for bard as the best choice is the spell list carries a lot of versatility and that many magical secrets at 10th level covers a lot, but more importantly they can leverage ability checks better than many classes on top of the spells.

The design for spells known, any skills selection, and variety of options in the subclasses promotes customizable and diverse builds.

Bardic inspiration is useful and that party had a lot of it.

Song of rest doesn't stack but that many separate rolls makes the likelihood of good bonus healing high.

Those are abilities the cleric doesn't demonstrate to the same degree while bards can pick up the armor gap.

My major considerations included valuing strong crowd control more than better healing or direct damage, and bardic inspiration supplements rolls needed.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Definitely partial to barbarians.

Overcome all obstacles through the twin dosciplines of anger and beef.

(Also some combinations synergize pretty well with additional melee combatants. Thinking some combination of ancestors barb(s), wolf totem barb(s), and and maybe a bear totem or bestial soul barb)

Lots of attack advantage, defense disadvantage and some damage mitigation.

Just gotta avoid the nasty mental saves..
..and mysteries
..and intrigue

 

[see]

It's the accommodating DM that enables the 5MWD because that doesn't follow storyline time frames.

If you think five-minute-workday DMs are accommodating (and I agree), imagine what one would call the DM who lets the whole situation in a "Masters of the Realm"-level game pause long enough for the party to retreat all the way to a home base where there's fortunately an NPC caster to bring back the dead?

(Of course, if anybody could cast teleportation circle, there'd at least be a way to the NPC cleric's town other than a long journey from a hostile place while a man down, but, well, that's a 5th-level spell, just like raise dead or reincarnate . . .)

I assure you I can play a group with 5 fighters allowing feats. ;-)

All right. What's the feat or Battle Master maneuver or whatnot that counters "The enemy wizard cast a hemispheric wall of force to split the party, so his allies could defeat the party in detail" again? Or would only a "gotcha DM" include one 9th-level wizard (using his spells as if he really had a high Intelligence score) among the foes of a 13th-level party?

Warlock is only iffy if a person hasn't figured out short rests are easier to justify than long rests and don't suffer the once per 24hr stipulation.

Warlocks are iffy for the single-class campaign because their narrow class spell list at high levels doesn't have the sort of broad utility that you find in the lists of other full casters. Resting a lot doesn't do anything to change the spell list.

There's a reason part of 5th edition's fix for full casters was reducing high-level spell slots; many high-level spells re-define the game. One of the OP criteria for the single-class party was capability, and there's just huge amounts of capability in the spells full casters get at Tier 3 that just can't be matched by anything else . . . except an accommodating DM handing out powerful magic items that duplicate the spells.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Voted Other because I would hope everyone was playing a different class, so my choice would be one of the classes no one else chose. I am also assuming there will be actual roleplay happening and chances for multiple classes to contribute, and not just one big optimizer's or min-maxer's wet dream.

 

[ECMO3]

Wizards generally crap at fighting and healing.

Sorcerer's can put up a better effort via divine souls, metamagic and races like Githyanki and Mountain Dwarf. Cast haste, attack with racial weapon. Round two cast gfb, quicken gfb.

IMO bladesingers are the most powerful class/subclass in the game and in my experience bladesingers go down less than any other class (despite their low hps). They can cast GFB and attack every single turn without being hasted and without using any sorcery points. I don't think sorcerers or for that matter any class other than a full martial is comparable in melee.

Divine souls do have cleric spells but healing is generally available and purchasable. In a 5-wizard party a couple wizards with magic initiate and healing word are all the healing you are probably going to need.

In terms of pure combat power I think the best 5-person party of 1-class would be 3 bladesingers (1 optimized for melee damage, 1 tank, 1 eldritch blaster with a hand crossbow), an enchanter and another wizard (diviner would be my pick). With the right backgrounds, stats and utility spells you could be good at the other two pillars as well.

I think a party of Rogues would be less powerful in combat when they had to fight, but better out of combat and able to avoid most fights. A party of 5 Rogues can move at 120 feet per turn as a party (more with magic). They can simply outrun a lot of foes if they can't sneak around or talk (with expertise) their way through. This party would have expertise in every skill and with a Phantom they would have proficiency in any tool on demand.

As others have mentioned though, in 5E you can debate what would be "best" but you could do it pretty well with any class.

 

[Undrave]

There's a reason part of 5th edition's fix for full casters was reducing high-level spell slots; many high-level spells re-define the game. One of the OP criteria for the single-class party was capability, and there's just huge amounts of capability in the spells full casters get at Tier 3 that just can't be matched by anything else . . . except an accommodating DM handing out powerful magic items that duplicate the spells.

And people say Caster VS Martial was fixed by 5e >.>

IMO bladesingers are the most powerful class/subclass in the game and in my experience bladesingers go down less than any other class (despite their low hps). They can cast GFB and attack every single turn without being hasted and without using any sorcery points. I don't think sorcerers or for that matter any class other than a full martial is comparable in melee.

Yeah but you also play in games where an Arcane Trickster burning two feats (and investing in STR) to wear Heavy Armor is considered the best way to play a Rogue (which you claim doesn't have good damage), so I don't know if your experience can be reliably described as 'typical'.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Getting to level 10 is the hard part. Class is underpowered until level 10 or so anyway.

No. Artificer is not underpowered.

 

[Zardnaar]

No. Artificer is not underpowered.

Most of the subclasses are imho of course.

It's been rated low in tier lists as well and I tend to agree with them.